


Get( )away

by maizonos



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beaches, Cars, Crushes, Escape, Jisung and Minho do not smoke, M/M, Mentions of Cigarettes, One Shot, Road Trips, Running Away, Secret Crush, Trains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-03 11:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19462864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maizonos/pseuds/maizonos
Summary: A quick little escapade, that's all there is to it. At least, that's what Jisung tells himself. And then it turns into much more than that.Or, in which Jisung learns that Lee Minho is much more than he seems.





	Get( )away

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for Round 1 of JYP Jukebox, with the artiste being Fall Out Boy, a band that I love. The song that goes with this fic is [Alone Together](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhEBmNwX_E).
> 
> As you should notice, I used songs as headings, and while their lyrics all have some sort of relation with the fic, they don't necessarily match up with where I've put them. I've compiled them into [a Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5f7K5sJGTVmfFYr2pAtjkF?si=L6CYVlByQY63-xbxQAAhEw) if you're interested in listening to them as you read or something.
> 
> I would like to thank my amazing friend [Nat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akabanes) for beta-reading a slightly older version of this and supporting me the whole way through, do read their JYP Jukebox fic too! I hope you enjoy reading this!

WJSN - **Let’s** Dance

A break. That was all he wanted when he made his decision. He wasn’t really thinking much when he picked his bass up (a musician never leaves his instrument behind) and walked out of the house in the middle of the night without letting anyone know.

He focused on walking, for as long as possible, until his legs ached and the sun had come back up. He had to admit that it wasn’t a very good or well thought out plan, but he never really planned anything he did.

While he had previously been set on just the act of leaving, now he had to figure out where he wanted to go. If he wanted to go somewhere far away, he’d need to get to the train station, probably. The nearest train station was probably one taxi ride away if he didn’t want to keep switching between buses. How inconvenient. But after rummaging through his many pockets for nearly a minute, it turned out that he’d conveniently left his wallet at home. _Smart move, Jisung_ , he thought to himself. Now there was no way he could get to the train station if he wished to refrain from spending the bit of spare change left in the pockets of his jeans on an expensive taxi ride. If he paid for a taxi, he probably wouldn’t even have enough for a train ticket anyway.

So he asked for help. It was weird, reviving the class group chat after it died since they’d graduated for just over a month. But he had no one else to reach out to and giving it a try was better than nothing.

He let himself rest on a bench outside the park, hoping someone would come to pick him up, give him a ride and maybe a free meal. His legs had now given up on him, so he was probably going to be stuck there for a while if he didn’t want to fall over in the middle of the road. Unfortunately, his phone had given up on him too and thus he had no idea whether anyone was on their way to save him. He sighed.  
  


  


* * *

  


TWICE - **Be** as ONE

He didn’t know how long he had been scanning the road for, a growing feeling of despondency now filling his empty stomach (along with more growls of hunger). Maybe his little escapade would have to end here. He would go back home and get scolded for disappearing. Well, sooner or later that was going to happen anyway. There was no way he would be able to avoid a major scolding if he intended to go back home. _Who do you think you are to just walk out like that? You’re our son!_ , his mother would scream, and his father would say he’d had enough of all this fooling around and making music and snap the neck of his bass. He sighed. He could already see all the holes in his ‘plan’ too.

A car stopped in front of him. At last, it seemed his hero had arrived. There was hope after all. He expected to see someone reliable like Woojin emerge from the vehicle, so his jaw dropped when the door slowly opened and of all people, Lee Minho stepped out. Jisung had not spoken to him in quite a while, and they were nothing more than classmates, but at least _someone_ had come to his rescue.

Minho furrowed his brow as he tugged his fingers through his messy locks of hair, looking more or less like the stereotypical bad boy as usual, complete with a leather jacket that fit him perfectly and a suave pair of sunglasses dangling from his fingers. “Why do you look so surprised to see me? Did you not see my reply?”

Jisung quickly stood up from the bench, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before tucking his hands in his pockets. “Oh um, my phone died.” Jisung’s throat was horribly parched, he now realised. “Do you happen to have some water? I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since last night.”

Minho’s eyes widened momentarily. “I take it you had a rough night then. Explains the eye bags.”

“Yeah...” Normally he didn’t care about the dark circles under his eyes that developed from staying up late writing songs or arguing with his parents about writing songs, but today he hoped they would go away sooner. The fact that someone like Lee Minho was pointing them out meant they really were obvious.

“I’ve got some stuff in here.” Minho turned back to the car, opening the door for Jisung and then jumping into the driver’s seat himself. It reminded Jisung of being kidnapped or arrested, but Lee Minho wasn’t the kind to do either, he reckoned.

The backseat was loaded with things, Jisung noted as he carefully slotted his bass at the side, making sure it wouldn’t get damaged. Minho started digging through a plastic bag, finally pulling out a bag of potato chips and a can of coffee. “Sorry, not sure if this is the greatest combination, but the rest of the food I’ve got is buried somewhere in the trunk, and it’s mostly canned food.”

Jisung accepted the food and drink gratefully. “It’s alright, thank you so much.” He opened the packet and started munching on the chips, offering some to Minho, who declined. “You eat it, you’re clearly starving.”

Minho started the car. “I don’t think cars are allowed to stay here for much longer, so I’ll move along slowly. That way, you can eat properly.”

Jisung nodded in thanks. Was Minho ever this considerate? Maybe it was just because he didn’t want to get his car all dirty and disgusting. It definitely would be bad if crumbs or coffee were to spill all over the place. It wouldn’t be pleasant for him either.  
  


  


* * *

  


Day6 - All **Alone**

“Oh right, you can use my portable charger,” Minho said out of nowhere when they found themselves stuck in a traffic jam. Everyone was probably heading to work now. Jisung would be too, if he succumbed to the pressure his parents were putting on him or if they simply forced him into a job. Minho pulled the little device out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Jisung. “Just don’t use it all and it’s cool.”

“Why? Are you headed somewhere?” Now that they’d been sitting in a car together for a while, it seemed easier for Jisung to speak to Minho. Maybe it was also because his stomach wasn’t rumbling anymore and his throat wasn’t dry either. Jisung fished his phone out of his pocket.

“Well, nowhere in particular,” Minho replied vaguely, shrugging.

“What’s all that stuff you’ve brought with you for then?”

“That’s more or less all my stuff.” Minho paused. “I’m...running away from home.”

“Oh...I guess that makes two of us then. Oh, but I’m just running away for a bit, I’ll go back...soon? I can’t survive on my own like this, clearly. You know when you just don’t want to deal with something and you’d rather try and sort it out later on?”

Minho nodded. “Yeah, I know that feeling all too well.” He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, waiting for the traffic jam to dissipate.

“How’d you escape if you had to put all your stuff in here? Wouldn’t you have gotten caught? Or did your parents just let you leave?” Jisung had to admit that the idea of running away sounded so cool, so out of reach for him. He admired Minho for being able to do such a thing.

“I snuck off very early in the morning when everyone else was asleep,” Minho replied smugly. “I had been planning on doing something like that for a long time, I was just waiting for the right time to do it. It just so happened that we had been arguing about what was to become of the family business yesterday, and my parents had some friends over at night so I figured there was no way they would be able to get up early.”

“Woah… You have my respect, dude.” He knew he sounded like he was just kidding, but he was actually being serious. Minho had so carefully come up with a plan and then executed it. And Jisung? Had just walked out with nothing but his bass, for god’s sake.

Minho snorted. “It’s no big deal.”

Jisung took his time thinking of another question to ask. “If it weren’t for me, where would you be going now?”

Minho thought about it for a moment. “The beach, probably.” He paused as if thinking of something to say to explain his answer. “It’s far, full of people, and my parents wouldn’t be able to find me there. If they even can be bothered to look for me.”

Jisung hadn’t expected Minho to bring up the beach, of all places, since he’d assumed Minho always went there with friends, but he still said the words he had prepared to say. “Let’s go there then.”

Minho turned to him, blinking. “You serious?” The confusion was evident in his tone.

Jisung shrugged. “I mean, you went out of your way to pick me up. I don’t mind going to the beach. I haven’t gone there in years. I’ve got loads of time.”

“Fair enough. Once these cars get going, I’ll take us there then.”

Appearing to be trying to satiate his boredom, Minho started going through some of the car’s compartments, opening them one by one and nudging the contents but not taking them out, as if they were foreign to him, or just plain disgusting. Jisung was bored too, so he watched Minho, fascinated by the various wrappers and other kinds of trash that the compartments concealed.

At one point, Minho pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He opened it, and Jisung’s eyes widened in horror. There just so happened to be two cigarettes inside, pressed together in the corner of the box. “Want one?” he asked casually.

“Uh, no thank you. I had no idea you smoked. Actually, I would appreciate if you didn’t do that in here because second-hand smoke is even worse for your health than first-hand smoke, did you know that...?” His arms flailing, Jisung backed away, as far as was possible in a car, from the pack. Thank goodness his bass was not in front with him.

Minho laughed. “Relax, dude, these aren’t mine. I don’t smoke.”

Jisung put his arms down, sighing in relief even though he still felt slightly wary. He could still remember when his mother had suddenly tried to stub out her cigarette on his bass and the fight that started as a result. “Then...who do they belong to?”

“My dad. This car is his too. He’ll kill me if he ever gets his hands on me, so that’s why I’ve gotta make sure he doesn’t ever find me.” While those words would normally sound like a mere exaggeration, there seemed to be some weight in Minho’s voice, striking a pang of fear in Jisung’s heart.

“It sounds like you hate him a lot,” he finally said.

“Yeah, I do. He hates me too.”

Jisung nodded, his mouth forming an ‘o’. Questions swam around in his brain, but he dared not ask any of them. “Let’s make sure he never catches you then.”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Hey, want me to just toss it out the window?”

“Oh god no, please don’t do that, as appealing and cool running from the police sounds, that’s not what either of us is here to do, right? It would be absolutely shameful if our parents ended up coming to pick us up or something.”

Minho chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right about that.” Minho put the pack away and went back to his treasure hunting, occasionally showing an odd object to Jisung and telling him a story about it.  
  


  


* * *

  


PENTAGON - Let’s Go **Together**

What felt like a century later, the cars finally started moving, and Minho quickly put both hands on the steering wheel once more. “So, you’re sure about this?”

“Yeah. Just for a while.”  
  


  


* * *

  


IZ*ONE - **We** Together

It took them a few tries to get to the beach. “We’re here,” Minho announced, even though the only one who would hear him was Jisung, who could very much tell that they had arrived since he had been the one scrutinising a map and telling Minho which way was the right one.

Eager to stretch, Jisung unplugged his phone from the portable charger, dropping both on his seat and quickly clambered out of the car. Minho followed soon after, the two stretching their limbs as if they were getting ready to swim in the ocean that was mere metres away.

“Let’s get going,” Minho declared when they finally stopped. His voice sounded chipper, enthusiastic, better than when they were in the car.

After they removed their shoes and socks, Minho broke out into a grin and leapt into the sand. “Come on!”

Hesitantly, Jisung stepped foot into the sand and followed Minho as he travelled closer and closer to the ocean, zigzagging past all the people. The sand felt soft but weird under his feet. Jisung grimaced but kept going. He glanced at the waves and the trees scattered around the area. This was quite a pretty beach.

“You’re not thinking of entering the water, are you?” Jisung asked, squatting next to Minho, who had started scraping some sand into mounds with his hands.

“Don’t know yet,” Minho replied, smiling mischievously. Jisung rolled his eyes. He probably did know.

With nothing else to do, Jisung watched Minho. At least it was better than being trapped at home or walking around aimlessly. Being with Minho gave him some sort of a purpose, even if he was pretty much just leeching off him. “Help me with this,” Minho insisted, reaching out to grab Jisung’s wrist.

“Okay, okay, so long as you don’t touch me with your filthy hands. Actually, you know what, let me borrow some tools to make it easier for you.” Jisung darted away from Minho’s reach and started walking towards a group of kids before Minho could respond.

When he had gotten ahold of a small shovel and bucket from a friendly little boy, he headed back to where Minho was. He stopped in his tracks as he took in the sight of Minho, who was deep in concentration as he patted a bit of sand on the top of the sandcastle. This side of him was like a small child. Vulnerable, very unlike the cool Lee Minho who many admired back when they were still students. It had only been a month since they’d graduated, and while that month had felt like a year to Jisung since he had spent most of it at home, Minho didn’t really seem to have changed much in general. Well, that was normal. Jisung was merely seeing other sides of Minho, he concluded.

“Yo, are you gonna bring those over or not?” Minho shouted. Jisung blinked, realising he had been awkwardly spacing out.

“Oh, yup. Sorry, I was kind of admiring the scene before me,” Jisung quickly stuttered as he handed the shovel and bucket to Minho.

“You mean admiring me? I was quite sure you were looking at me, not the sky or whatever.” Minho cocked his head to the side, one eyebrow arched. “I wouldn’t blame you though, I do acknowledge that I’m quite a sight.”

“What? Of course not. I was just looking in your direction, that’s all. It’s beautiful behind you.” Jisung felt his cheeks redden and a burning desire to bury his head in the sand, much like an ostrich would. “I wish I had brought my phone out of the car, it really is gorgeous here.”

If Minho could tell that Jisung was desperate to change the topic, he didn’t tease him for it. “You can borrow mine. I’ll just send ‘em to you later. It’s in my pocket here.” Minho gestured with his sandy hands.

“Oh, thanks.” Jisung brushed the little bits of sand that had gotten on his hands when he had been holding the bucket and shovel and sheepishly pulled Minho’s phone out. At least now he wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty and help Minho with the sandcastle.

Wandering around, Jisung took various photos of the people around him, the beach, the sky, the ocean, maybe a few of Minho, the trees, even the outhouses. By the time he decided he’d taken enough photos, Minho appeared to have finished building the sandcastle and was now brushing the sand off his hands on his jeans.

“Mission accomplished!” he proclaimed, a wide goofy grin on his face.

Jisung scoffed. “Yeah, good job.”

“Let’s take a photo with it!” Minho exclaimed. The comparison with a child came to mind again. Jisung was well-aware that it was typical for people these days to take selfies all the time. Still, he hesitated. It felt weird, taking a photo of him and Minho, just the two of them. It wasn’t like Jisung was completely unsociable, and Minho wasn’t the type to pretend everyone besides his friends were non-existent, but there was still that underlying feeling that Minho was way out of Jisung’s league.

He shook the weird thoughts away. Overthinking about taking a photo, of all things, was truly unnecessary. Squatting down again, Jisung opened up the camera of Minho’s phone and stretched his arm away from them. “3, 2, 1, smile!”

Jisung handed the phone back to Minho, who examined the photo. “Great!” He stood up and tucked his phone back into his pocket, satisfied.

“Is this really all you came here to do?”

“Ehh, I can’t quite give you a firm answer on that. Mostly just wanted to chill for a bit without worrying about my parents finding me and maybe also think about what I want to do for the next part of my journey.” Jisung felt his stomach lurch at the word ‘my’. Not ‘our’, but ‘my’. But it wasn’t like Jisung was now tagging along with Minho on his run from home. After this Minho would drive him to the train station and then he would be on his way to somewhere far away for a bit, then go back home.

“So where are you planning to go right now?” Jisung could start to feel the heat of the sun over his head. He couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“Not sure yet.” Minho kicked some sand around, careful not to get any near the sandcastle. “Unless you want to get some water from the ocean splashed on you right now.” He flashed Jisung a devilishly playful (and devilishly hot) look.

“No thank you.” Jisung winced and backed away. “Maybe you wanna sit in the car and brainstorm then?”

“Lemme go buy something to eat first, in the meantime, you can return these and head back.” Minho passed the shovel and bucket to Jisung and walked off, leaving Jisung to stare at his back as it moved further and further away, out of reach.

After a long moment, Jisung turned away.  
  


  


* * *

  


Day6 - What **Can** I Do

For some reason, it was unsettling, being in the car again. It wasn’t like they’d done very much while they’d been out of the car. Limbs were stretched, words were exchanged, sand was tread on, a sandcastle was made, pictures were taken, popsicles were eaten, and that was about it. But now Jisung felt something churning in his stomach. Probably anxiety over how he would have to go back to dealing with the seriousness of living again. He dreaded that, he definitely did. Being able to sit in someone else’s car and just drive away from all his problems was a very nice feeling, he concluded. Would he ever be able to do such a thing again?

“Do you mind if I open the roof?” Minho asked after he returned from throwing the wrappers away.

“You can do that?!” Jisung replied, surprised. There had been a very brief period of time in his childhood where he’d thought cars were the coolest things ever to exist, but he never really paid attention to their features, and nor did he know about the various brands. But that was a long time ago, after that he’d gotten into music and ever since then, his parents stopped seeing him as a good and ‘normal’ son.

“Yup, this is a convertible. You see this button?” Minho pointed at a button that Jisung hadn’t noticed before.

Jisung watched, impressed, as Minho carried out each step with ease, and in about a minute there was no more roof over their heads. A gentle breeze hit Jisung in the face. “Have you done this many times?”

“I may or may not have run off with this car a number of times before,” Minho admitted, laughing as he thought back to the times when he’d gone on short drives in the beat-up Ford Mustang. “Besides, my dad taught me how to do it. Said I would need to know someday, especially if I ever get my own convertible.”

“Why is it that you’re really running away this time then?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

Jisung was half-expecting the relaxed expression on Minho’s face to turn dark, but he didn’t seem fazed at all. Minho shrugged. “I’ve had enough of my parents. And now that I’ve graduated, there’s not much of a good reason for me to stay. They’re expecting me to take over the family business, which I have absolutely no interest in. So I decided that I would leave and do what I want, not what they want. I think I’m smart enough to make decisions for myself now. Today was actually the first time I made a sandcastle. I’ve never gotten to play at the beach before because my parents have always been awfully controlling. That’s another reason why I wanted to go. I don’t need them to tell me what to do.”

It was no inspiring speech, but it still left Jisung in awe. Running away was normally not something one would deem to be mature, but the way Minho put it into words made it sound so powerful and motivational, just so...right. “You’re giving me a weird look, Jisung,” Minho remarked when his eyes darted over to look at him.

Jisung blinked as he came to his senses once more. “Sorry, I’m kind of tired, I guess,” he lied.

“Don’t apologise. We were sweating under the sun for quite some time. You can nap for a bit, I’ll wake you up when we get to the train station. My pillow and blanket are at the back too, I could lend ‘em to ya.”

Unsurprisingly, Jisung had forgotten about the train station. “It’s okay, I’m fine. The breeze is probably helping. Thanks for offering, though.”

Minho didn’t probe further and started the car.

Jisung still fell asleep later on anyway, dreaming of his mother screaming insults at the top of her dying lungs and his father sending him away to work at his company. The funny thing was, it wasn’t quite something that would stay as a dream, because he knew that this was probably going to happen in real life the second he returned home.  
  


  


* * *

  


PENTAGON - **Stay** Crazy

Minho scanned their surroundings, noting how there were barely any cars near them. “Wanna try standing on the seat? It’ll be fun, trust me. Make the most of this car ride, ey?”

“Uhhh…” Under normal circumstances, being the coward he was, Jisung would decline. He enjoyed staying in his comfort zone, just like how he enjoyed staying in the comfort of his room most of the time, even if it meant arguing with his parents about it. But this was Lee Minho he was with. Jisung wanted to impress. He was just that kind of person at times. “I guess I can try,” he finally said.

Slowly, he kicked his shoes off and scrambled onto the seat, very much aware of how Minho was staring at him curiously and how the car was moving a lot more slowly than before. Now that half his body was out of the car, he could really feel the breeze blowing straight at him. He looked down at Minho, who wore a proud look on his face. “I’ve taught you well,” Minho teased, nodding his head.

Jisung blushed and contemplated punching Minho in the shoulder, but decided against it. Instead, he spread his arms out wide, feeling the breeze really hit him. He looked at the miles and miles of the road stretched before them. “It’s great up here! I love how it’s so thrilling.” He yelled as if Minho was miles below him.

Minho broke out into a grin, and Jisung did the same. “I’m the king of the world!” he shouted. Too bad there was no one besides Minho to hear him at the peak of his feeling of superiority.

“Drive faster!” he excitedly shouted.

Minho shook his head. “It’s dangerous to do that, I’ll only go a bit faster, but not that much. I don’t want you to get hurt. The car’s going really slowly and you’re already a bit shaky, now imagine if the car was going faster.”

Jisung was about to argue (he really was enjoying this too much) when he remembered how he wasn’t on speaking terms with his parents at the moment, and now that he’d run off, they would be even angrier at him, so if he landed himself in the hospital and they caught wind of it, they wouldn’t forgive him so easily. They would probably also use that incident to torment him and justify them forcing him into some white-collar job. He couldn’t let Minho pay for his hospital bills either. “Yeah, you’re right.”

After a few more minutes, Jisung decided that he’d had enough of standing up for now (his legs were beginning to tire again too) so he plopped back down on the seat, stuffing his feet back in his shoes. “Thanks for caring about me.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for having fun doing that on my behalf.” That was a weird way to put it, but Minho was Minho, and Minho did what he wanted.

“Do you want to swap? I’ve tried driving a couple of times, I think I could handle driving slowly for a few minutes.”

“Nah, I’m absolutely terrified of heights, so I won’t find it as fun.” Jisung was taken aback. Minho was...scared? Of heights? It was a perfectly normal and common fear to have, but sometimes Jisung forgot that Minho was much more human than he seemed.  
  


  


* * *

  


NCT Dream - We **Young**

“I’ve come to a conclusion,” Minho declared out of the blue.

“And what’s that?”

“Look at me,” Minho instructed. Although he didn’t understand why he had to, Jisung complied, turning away from the billboards that were now popping up as they reentered the more urban part of town.

With one hand still on the steering wheel, Minho reached his other arm out near Jisung’s face. His fingers grasped the hinge of Jisung’s glasses, pulling them off swiftly. “There we go.” He nodded, pleased with himself for pulling off such an amazing feat. “Have you ever considered going without these?” He examined the glasses.

“Well, yes, but I’ve been wearing them for so long that it just doesn’t feel right wearing contacts. My eyesight’s really poor, by the way, so I can barely see anything right now.” Jisung blinked rapidly as he attempted to adjust to seeing without his glasses.

“That’s a shame. You really should think about getting contacts more seriously.” Minho clicked his tongue and handed the pair of glasses back to Jisung.

“Okay…but why?” Jisung put his glasses back on, relieved to be able to see everything clearly again. It was much better being able to see the expressions on Minho’s face than not being able to.

“You look better without them. You’ll have people flocking around you in no time at all.” Minho smiled and ran a hand through his hair. It was quite a sight to take in, especially when they were driving with the roof open and sunlight streaming in. Minho was hot, but of course, Jisung wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

“Oh yeah? Does that include you?” Jisung smirked, suddenly feeling confident enough to ask such a question.

“Probably, yes,” Minho replied quickly.

Embarrassingly enough, it sounded like an honest answer. Jisung had expected more of a joke answer, but sure, he’d take what he could get. “Really? Thanks. I really ought to consider getting contacts then.” An honest sentence deserved an honest response, Jisung reassured himself, even though his heart was frantically pounding at top speed now.

“That’s good,” Minho finally said, his eyes focused on the road as the traffic lights changed colour. “Notice how I haven’t tried to turn on the radio at all? It’s broken, that’s why. So how about you show me what you’ve got with that sweet bass of yours? They do say bass players are hot.” Picking up the pace with the flirting? If that was how Minho wanted to play, Jisung would gladly join in.

“Does that make me hot then?” Jisung chuckled.

“Maybe,” Minho replied in a sing-song voice, choosing not to give him a direct answer.

“Too bad you don’t know the basics of musical instruments. This’s an electric bass.” Jisung smirked as he watched Minho blush furiously. “But if you want, maybe some other day I can play for you, yeah?”

“Yeah, I would like that.” Minho seemed to be staring at some faraway place now, hiding his face from Jisung’s sight, but Jisung could tell he was smiling through all the embarrassment.  
  


  


* * *

  


BLACKPINK - **Forever** Young

“Seems like it took us the whole day to get here,” Minho chuckled as the car came to a stop. The sun had fallen long ago and the moon had taken its place.

“More or less,” Jisung agreed.

“Are you sure there are still trains running this late at night?” Minho asked, checking his phone for the time. “It’s already the next day.”

“I’m not too sure, I’ll go check.” Jisung opened the car door and stepped out.

He went up to the boards showing all the train information. The first train of the day would be leaving in about half an hour. He returned to the car, reporting this to Minho. “Will you be heading off now?” Jisung reluctantly asked, hoping it sounded casual, polite and nothing more.

“Probably. I found a place that I can rent, it’s pretty far away but it seems nice, according to the website.” Minho turned to show his phone screen to Jisung, before typing away on his phone, not looking at Jisung.

“Ohh, that does look nice.” Jisung could only stand there, scratch his head, and think about what he could say next.

“You should get going now, wouldn’t want to miss the train, would you?” Minho was staring straight at him now.

“Uh, yeah.” He fetched his bass from the back along with a bag of items that Minho had donated to him. “So this is goodbye?” Jisung wanted to hit himself for sounding so hesitant. This shouldn’t be bothering him that much.

Minho didn’t bat an eyelash. “Guess so. See you around, maybe?” Maybe there was a hopeful look in his eyes, but Jisung had long since told himself that he was incapable of figuring out what was real and what was just his imagination.

Jisung nodded vigorously. “Yeah. See you.” Not wanting to make this anymore painful for himself, he made sure not to look back at Minho as he took a step forward.

“Wait, one last thing,” Minho called out. Jisung spun around. “Can you see me working in the strawberry business for a living?”

“No…?” Jisung didn’t understand what Minho was getting at.

“Exactly. But that’s what my family has been doing for decades and it’s what my parents want me to do. So, you know, don’t listen to what your parents say. Do what you want to do, yeah? I sure as hell can’t see you working in some lame ol’ office.”

“Oh… Thanks. I appreciate it.” Unable to meet Minho’s gaze for much longer, he forced his legs to drag him away, all the while sticking a smile on his face and waving his hand.

He bought his ticket and sat down on a bench at the platform, placing his bass on one side and the bag with some of Minho’s canned food on the other. He could only see one or two other people around. The train was already there, but he couldn’t board yet. Jisung sighed. All this was incredibly ludicrous. He was being an idiot for thinking that he could just run off on a train with hardly any money, just some food and his bass.

He wasted a whole day with Minho already… He should just go home…accept whatever punishments his parents had in store for him... He really was going to regret doing this. He could feel himself this close to bursting out laughing like a maniac. Was this a result of being apart from the one he so desperately clung onto for a while?

He sighed. The train doors opened, and Jisung entered the compartment, picking a seat by the window. He stared outside for a bit. He couldn’t see the entrance of the train station from here, so he had no way of knowing if Minho was still around or if he had already zoomed off long ago to that neat-looking place as soon as Jisung had turned away. God...he hadn’t even asked Minho for any clothes or daily necessities.

Upon hearing some beeps coming from his phone, Jisung pulled it out. Minho was sending him the photos he’d taken at the beach. Speak of the (very attractive) devil. He scrolled through them, looking at each one of them. Some of them turned out to be blurry, but Jisung decided to keep them, knowing it was too late to try to go back and retake them. It was like a moment that he could never go back to. Minho had even sent him the pictures he’d taken of Minho himself. Jisung flushed bright red, wondering what Minho had thought when he came across those photos. All these photos were like dear memories of a distant past. But in reality, it hadn’t even been a full day since they’d been at the beach.

The very last photo was of the two of them next to the sandcastle. Jisung had almost forgotten about this photo, having pushed that moment to the back of his mind because of how flustered he was at the time when Minho had suddenly made the suggestion.

Minho’s last words to him resurfaced in his head. It was dawning on him now. He couldn’t just sit in this train and let life take him wherever.

Hauling his bass up and picking up the bag of cans, he quickly stepped off the train, much to the alarm of the train station staff. “Sorry, I just realised I have somewhere to be.” Ducking his head, he rushed out of the station, scanning the roads for _that_ car. Unfortunately, there were now some more cars in the area, and the car he was looking for was not a special or particularly flashy one.

Just when he was about to give up and start trudging back home, he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Jisung? Why are you back here?”

He whirled around instantly. “Oh, thank goodness you’re still here. Well, you might not be surprised, but I changed my mind. I don’t want to just go somewhere random on my own anymore.”

“Yeah, that sounds like you.” Minho chuckled.

“Why are _you_ still here then?”

“I had a feeling you’d come back.” He took on a serious tone with that response, then paused, probably for dramatic effect, because he smiled again after that, waving his hand dismissively. “Of course not, I’m kidding. I just needed to use the bathroom so I went to the train station’s one and I was about to get back in the car when I noticed you standing around like a lost kitten.”

Jisung pursed his lips, wondering how to explain what he wanted to do. He was being too selfish, taking advantage of Minho’s kindness… “So uh, I don’t know whether I can afford the rent over at that place you found, but please, give me a chance to join you on your journey. Just for a while, I swear I’m not simply super clingy or something.”

“Hmm? What brought this on?” Minho tilted his head to the side, appearing innocent.

“I’m having too much fun avoiding my responsibilities and just hanging around with you. I never really thought through what I would do after getting on a train anyway,” Jisung blurted out. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, hoping that didn’t sound as absolutely dumb as it did in his head.

Minho cackled. “You fool, you didn’t have to explain yourself that way. I already know. It’s kind of obvious. Just get in. Play me that bass of yours every night and consider all your expenses paid for. Don’t worry about the amp and all that, I have loads of cash to spare so we can buy that later.” It was soothing, hearing Minho say ‘we’ and referring to the two of them.

“Did you want to listen to me play _that_ much?” Jisung climbed back into the car after Minho, settling back in the seat he had become so familiar with and putting his bass and bag of food in the back again.

“Maybe.” Jisung wished Minho would stop answering with that word and just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but for now, he wouldn’t ask for a less vague answer. This was the way Minho worked, sooner or later he’d find out, right?

“I realised that I never really thanked you for giving me that first ride out of there.” Jisung watched Minho start the car again.

“No need to thank me, I was only doing the right thing.” Minho shrugged as they drove away from the train station, away from where it was all supposed to end, or something like that.

“Would you still have done it if you’d known what would have happened?”

“Definitely. Without even a moment of hesitation. So don’t worry, alright?” Unexpectedly, Minho’s hand reached over and patted Jisung’s knee gently, reassuring him.

Jisung nodded bashfully. He stared outside again, wondering what kind of paths they’d go down this time.

The deja vu became apparent as Minho drove them further and further away from the familiar parts of town to the unknown realms beyond. The roof was no longer open because it had begun to rain, and it made Jisung feel tired and gloomy, watching the dark skies and people hurrying around with umbrellas in their hands.

He yawned. “Can I use your shoulder as a pillow? I promise it’s just for a while.” Minho nodded, shrugging.

It wasn’t long before Jisung fell asleep.

“You say everything is just going to be for a while but it never turns out to be that way,” Minho snickered, shaking his head and taking the opportunity to press his cheek against the top of Jisung's head.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Constructive criticism is welcome. :D Additionally, I hope you noticed what I was doing with the headings. XD
> 
> Twitter: [hchaes](https://twitter.com/hchaes)  
> Curious Cat: [hchaes](https://curiouscat.me/hchaes)


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